Unlocking means for burial vaults



April 3, 1934. F. BISZANTZ UNLOCKING MEANS FOR BURIAL VAULTS Filed April 4, 1933 Mom Patented Apr. 3, 1934 PATENT OFFICE UNLOCKING. MEANS FOR BURIAL VAULTS Fred Biszantz, Galion, Ohio, assignor to Central Ohio Steel Products 00., Galion, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 4, 1933, Serial No. 664,408

13 Claims.

This invention relates to those burial vaults in which there is a base and. an arched cover for the base and in which locking devices are provided in, the form of spring actuated bolts which look the cover to the base, the cover being provided with an inturned flange and the bolts being mounted on the base for projection over this flange. All vaults known to me and on the market use spring bolts for locking the dome or 10. cover to the base and these bolts can only be withdrawn by engaging them directly and individually. If a vault is standing on end, it is an easy matter to pull each lock wire and unlock all. the bolts, but if the vault be used as a shipping 15. case, it cannot be unlocked while resting in a natural position on a floor or on the ground.

The object of the present invention is to provide means. whereby the vault may be readily unlocked when in any position and moreparticularly 20. toprovide means which is mounted upon the dome at. the lower edge thereof. which is longitudinally shiftable. relative to the dome or cover and which has a camming action when shifted against the particular bolt. associated therewith acting to force the bolt back to permit the removal of the cover or dome.

Other objects. will appear in the course of the following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying, drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a. portion of a vault, the interior base of the vault being. shown in dotted lines,. the dome of the vault having my lock releasing means thereon;

Figure 2 is a section on the line 22 of. Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a like view to Figure. 2. but showing the lock retracted by the action of the retracting slide; I

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring tothe drawing, 19 designates generally the base for the vault of the character stated,v this base at its lateral edges being extended downward as at 11 and then inward as at 12. The vault cover or dome 13- has a cross sectional area above the top of the base less than the cross sectional area of the upper portion. of the base and the lower margin. of each wall of the dome is extended outward and downward as at 14 and then inward as at 15. Disposed within the base is, a bolt housing 16 having therein the bolt 17 whose nose is upwardly and inwardly beveled,

this bolt being projected by means of a spring 18 bearing against the rear end of the bolt housing. A rod or wire 19 extends through the spring and is connected 'to the bolt and extends out through the rear end of the bolt housing.

By this means, and this means alone, can the bolt be retracted and it is obvious that with thisconstruction the bolt can only be retracted when the vault is stood up on end and that when the vault is lying in its natural position, either on the floor or on the ground, it is impossible to re tract the bolt. The bolt is projected outward through an opening 20 in the side wall of the base below the top thereof and is normally projected over the flange 15 of the dome. So far I have described the ordinary and usual construction of metallic burial vaults commonly found on the market. My invention resides in the provision of means mounted upon the base flange of the vault cover or dome which is shiftable to force the bolt 17 inward or permit the bolt to be'projected. To this end, I mount upon the flange 15 a slide 21. This slide is formed of metal folded upon itself to. provide a portion 22 which is disposed exteriorly of the lower margin of the vault cover or dome and a portion 23 which fits the interior surface of the downwardly extending flared part 14 of the dome and the flange 15. The portion 22 which is disposed exteri'orly of the apron 14 is cut away at intervals at 24 to provide finger holds whereby the slide may be shifted longitudinally. The interior portion 23 of the slide is formed with a pressed out portion or cam 26, the crest of this cam being designated 27.

The sides of the cam 26 extend longitudinally and inward convergently to the crest at a relatively slight angle, that is, an angle which will permit the ready longitudinal shifting of the slide and the easy pushing back of the bolt. The crest 2'7 provides a vertical surface against which the nose of the bolt 17 may engage so that when this slide is in. the position shown in Figure 3, the bolt will be forced backward and. held in this position so long as the slide is in this position and inasmuch as this crest 27 is transversely flattened, it forms a wide enough surface so that the bolt will not accidentally act to force the slide to one side or the other but that the bolt will be held backward by the crest of this cam on the slide and the slide will be held from lateral movement by engagement of the bolt with the flattened crest. This slide may be made of relatively heavy metal or might be cast or stamped out or formed in any desired way. Preferably, the skirt or apron 14 of the dome will be provided with two inwardly projecting stops which W l limit the movement of the unlockedge of the dome and the seal.

ing slide. These stops 28 may be formed in the vault cover or may be welded thereto.

I do not wish to be limited to a cam having two inclined sides on each side of the crest as only one-half of each cam is operative with any individual bolt but the slide is made with two.

inclined portions on each side of the crest, that is, with both ends the same so as to operate in connection with either right hand or left hand bolts.

The use of this device will be obvious from what has gone before. When the slide is shifted so that the cam is carried away from the bolt, the bolt will be projected and will engage over the portion 23 of the slide and thus will operatively engage with the flange 15 of the vault cover or dome. When the slide, however, is shifted laterally until it comes in engagement with one of the stops, the cam will act to force the bolt back until the crest of the cam and the bolt coincide with each other and then the vault cover may be readily lifted off because of the vertical straight face 27 formed by the crest of the cam.

Attention is also called to the fact that in my vault, the air seal is formed at the junction of the top of the base 10 with the upper portion of the skirt 14-. and its junction with the vertical portion of the cover 13 as described and claimed in my Patent 1,856,309. Thus it is possible with my construction to dispose an unlocking means inward on the skirt 14 because this unlocking means will then be disposed between the lower This is impossible with other vaults known to me because the vault is not sealed at the junction of the upper face of the base with the dome but by the cover being provided with a flange at its lower end or margin resting upon a flange extending outward 40 from the lower portion of the base. Hence I have provided means located between the point of sealing contact between the cover and the base and the lower margin of the skirt of the cover for unlocking the spring projected bolt.

within the base and adapted to be projected over the flange of the dome, and means carried on the flange of the dome for engaging against and forcing said bolt inward, said means being shiftable into or out of operative position and having a portion extending outward beneath the flange of the dome whereby said means may be manually shifted. I

2. A vault having a base and a dome fitting over the base, the lower edge of the dome having an inwardly extending flange, a spring projected bolt mounted in the base and adapted to be projected over said flange of the dome, and means slidable longitudinally of and on the flange of the dome adapted to engage against and force the bolt inward out of its locking position to permit the removal of the dome.

3. A vault having a base, a dome coacting with the base and having an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt, the skirt at its lower margin being inwardly flanged, a spring actuated bolt disposed within the base and projectable into position over said flange, and means carried by the dome and extending beneath the lower edge of the dome whereby the bolt may be retracted.

4. A vault having a base, a dome coacting with the base and having an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt, the skirt at its lower margin being inwardly flanged, a spring actuated bolt disposed within the base and projectable into position over said flange, a slide mounted upon the flange of the skirt and slidable longitudinally thereof and adapted to engage and force the bolt inward when shifted in one direction or permit the protrusion of the bolt when shifted in the other direction.

5. A vault having a base, a dome coacting with the base and iaving an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt, the skirt at its lower margin being inwardly flanged, a spring actuated bolt disposed within the base and projectable into position over said flange, a slide mounted upon the flange of the skirt and longitudinally thereof, the slide having a portion disposed within the skirt and a. portion disposed exteriorly thereof and constituting a handle whereby the slide may be moved, that portion of the slide disposed within the skirt being formed to provide a beveled faced cam adapted as the slide is one direction to bear against the nose of the bolt and force it rearward and when shifted in the other direct-ion to permit the projection of the bolt.

6. A vault having a base, a dome coacting with the base and having an outwardly downwardly extending skirt, the skirt at its lower margin being inwardly flanged, a spring actuated bolt disposed within the base and projectable into position over said flange, a slide slidably mounted upon the flange of the skirt, the slide having a portion disposed within the a portion disposed exteriorly thereof and con stituting a handle whereby the slide may be moved, that portion of the slide disposed within the skirt being formed to provide a beveled faced cam adapted as the slide is shifted in one direction to bear against the nose of the bolt and force it rearward and when shifted in the other direction to permit the projection of the bolt, said cam being formed with a vertically extending,

skirt and transversely flattened crest to engage the nose the slide having an exterior portion fitting against the exterior face of the flange and skirt and an interior portion fitting against the interior face of the skirt and flange, the slide having an inwardly projecting cam-shaped portion having a vertical crest adapted to engage with the nose of the bolt, the slide being shiftable in one direction to permit the projection of the bolt and in the other direction to cause the bolt to be forced inward by the crest of the cam, and stops limiting the lateral movement of the slide.

8. A vault having a base, a dome coacting with the base and having an outwardly and downwardly extending skirt, the skirt at its lower margin being inwardly flanged, a spring actuated bolt disposed within the base and projectable into position over said flange, a slide slidably moved, that portion of the slide disposed within the skirt being formed to provide a beveled faced cam adapted as the slide is shifted in one direction to bear against the nose of the bolt and force it rearward and when shifted in the other direction to permit the projection of the bolt, said cam being formed with a vertically extending transversely flattened crest to engage the nose of the bolt and on each side of said crest having longitudinally and outwardly diverging inclined portions.

9. A vault having a base, a dome coacting with the base, the dome at its lower margin having an inwardly extending flange, a spring actuated bolt disposed within the base and projectable into a position over said flange, and means carried by the dome whereby the bolt may be retracted, comprising a member movably mounted on the lower margin of the dome and having a portion thereof on the inner face of the dome and engageable with the bolt and a portion thereof disposed on the exterior face of the lower margin of the dome whereby said means may be shifted into or out of coactive relation to the bolt.

10. A vault having a base and dome, the dome fitting over the base and extending downward approximately to the lower face of the base, a spring projected bolt mounted within the base and adapted to engage with the lower edge of the dome, and means carried on the inside face of the lower margin of the dome for engaging against and forcing said bolt inward, said means being shiftable into or out of operative position and having a portion extending below the lower manually shifted.

11. A vault having a base and a dome, the dome fitting over the base and having an inwardly extending flange at its lower margin, a spring projected bolt mounted within the base and adapted to be projected over the flange of the dome, and means carried on the flange of the dome for engaging against and forcing the bolt inward, said means being shiftable into or out of operative position and having a portion extending outward beneath the flange of the dome whereby said means may be manually shiftable.

12. A vault having a base and a dome, the dome fitting over the base and having an inwardly extending flange at its lower edge, the dome at one point having sealing engagement with the base, a spring projected bolt mounted within the base and adapted to be projected over the flange of the dome, and means disposed between the edge of the dome and the point of sealing engagement between the dome and the base for engaging against and forcing said bolt inward, said means being shiftable into or out of operative position.

13. A vault having a base and a dome, the dome fitting over the base, the dome having sealing engagement with the base around the entire margin of the upper face of the base, a bolt mounted within the base and adapted to be projected into locking engagement with the lower edge of the dome, and means disposed below the point of sealing engagement between the dome and the base for engaging against said bolt and forcing it inward, said means being shiftable into or out of operative position.

FRED BISZANTZ. 

